• Superman #1

• June 1938

• Comic books developed as a form of fantasy and escapism during the 1920s and the Great Depression.

• Superheroes go to war. Do comic books become tools for wartime propaganda, or do they simply reflect a period of national pride?

• Captain America #1

• March 1st, 1941

• Sensation Comics, Wonder woman #1

• January 1942

Growing feminism will inspire Wonder Woman’s creator William Marston to chronicle “a great movement now under way—the growth in the power of women.” Similarly many characters will reflect the push for more rights for others, like the blind superhero Daredevil.

• The Seal of Approval was introduced in 1954 and quietly disappeared in 2011

• Churches, teachers, and mental health experts argued against comics for a variety of reasons:• Dumbing down literacy

• Immorality

• Desensitizing children to violence

• Iron Man, Tales of Suspense #39

• March 10, 1963

The Cold War, space race, and civil rights shaped a new era of heroes. The space race, for example, influenced the creation of the Fantastic Four and other interstellar heroes. The nuclear arms race, in turn, influenced the creation of Iron Man and the Hulk.

• Amazing Fantasy, Spider Man #15

• August 10, 1962

The growing teen demographic will inspire the development of a teen superhero, with all of his angst and struggle against authority, etc.

• Fantastic Four #52 introduced Black Panther

• July 1966

A new representation of blackness as more than a racist stereotype. The Black Panther emerges against the backdrop of the Civil Rights and burgeoning black-power movement.

• Marvel Civil War

• 2006/2016

• Batman v. Superman

• 2016